Day 4: Monster Arrival

[wizardseason]

Afternoon: 12:00noon - Evening

[ IRL Timeframe: July 17th - July 31st, 2019 ]

It's monster time.

The bright, glowing blue fissures are still open throughout the ground, they haven't gone anywhere. At last, social media has started buzzing about the source of the cracks. They're all originating from the mountain up the slope from Craydon! There are a ton of theories, including a non-negligible amount talking about a 'Wizard death machine'! Guess the heroes will have to find out for themselves.

As usual, though, social media is the fastest source of information. Do they have an inside man? Is one of the heroes actually the one feeding all the information to social media? Either way, there are numerous discussions going on about the "door on the mountain". Apparently satellite pictures have traced the cracks all the way up to a glowing door in the side of the mountain. It's absolutely not a manmade door and it's definitely magic in some way, but why is it there now?

Monster Arrival: Craydon: The Game Show.

---

The Weather

• Eerily still.
• 66°F / 19°C
• Is... is that... air conditioning?

---

Prompts:

• 12:00pm The Game Show, Craydon: Garrot, Rory, Joanna, Haizea, Olivia, Luka, Gyre, Seth, and Zafika will all find themselves teleported from wherever they were to a new and fantastical location. The room is dark, the stage is set, the hero is seated in a contestant's chair. Suddenly, the spotlight is on them and the curtains open: The crowd goes wild! In front of the hero is a big television screen with the words "Welcome!!" on it and, beside it, is the fourth monster. They're entirely humanoid, standing at roughly six feet tall, wearing a positively striking suit and tie. All four of their eyes look surprisingly normal on their face. They look like a regular person just with a second set of eyes where their upper cheeks are. They settle their yellow pupils on the hero in the chair as they smile wide and their mouth squishes as the space opens up into existence. Looks like the mouth isn't a permanent feature, but there's a soft bubbling sound that follows it and then their voice breaks the strange noises up. Their voice is high, eager, and unmistakably excited about the news they're about to share.
  
  "Are you ready for the show? Smile, you're on camera!" They say, hopping back and forth on their feet by the screen, barely able to contain their enthusiasm. Any hero who gives it even a moment of thought will realize two things: 1) Cameras don't work, and 2) That's not a real audience, this room is actually just dark and it's only them and the monster.
  
  Oh god, it's only them. Where are all the others? One on One monster fight? Great!


• 1:15pm Lounge Time, Bamborough: Social media is going bananas! That monster that was roaming around Far Haven's train station has made his way to Bamborough! The effects of the earthquake here may be less apparent, but there are still things to fix. But Ten won't be found fixing anything this time. Instead he's sitting on a beach chair, under an umbrella, on the oceanfront at the Bamborough Resort. On the little table to his right is a tall glass of tea and a portable USB charger. Because, in his hand, he's fiddling with a cell phone. Where did he get a cell phone? Who brought him tea? What on earth is happening?


• 4:00pm International Bungalo of Burgers, Bamborough: The social media war of "Crepes or Burgers" has begun, it's been set off by the Wizard arriving at IBoB for dinner. Just like the morning, she's asked for a group table in the restaurant. Gail, Terrence, and Matilda have all received special invitations right into their pocket (or their hand if they lack pockets). Enjoy a little card that says "One free burger!" with a stylized tiny Wizard face to the side looking very surprised!


• ??:00pm Mountain Door, Craydon: [Exploration] [Not yet revealed]

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Procedure:

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around.

Important: 'Exploration' toplevels will unlock additional information as items in their descriptions are explored. If your character explores a feature, write [Character explores ____] at the end of your tag and send a ping on Discord to get a reply with further details regarding that item.

Comments

[wizardseason]

"Oh no, that looked exactly like him dear contestant Rory! I'm so sad to hear you disagree." They once again sound utterly disappointed, folding their arms. Their pretend-Luka was the best pretend-Luka ever! Even real-Luka would be jealous of how pretend-Luka looked!

But when she spins, they're back to looking delighted and then she guesses "S" and...

"Oh, contestant Rory... why are you doing this to me? My heart can't take it, there isn't a single 'S' in your phrase at all!" They feign being hurt again before they dissolve into a little chuckle.

"Unless you can guess, it's time for another spin...!" Another spin, but when she goes to spin this one doesn't have a bad feeling either. Rory's going to be lucky enough to get another Letter.

"_ _ - _ _ _ _, _ I _! _ _ _ - _ A _ - _ _ - I _!"
Guessed Letters: A,E,I,S.

[roaryrory]

Now this is just making Rory frustrated more so than disappointed in herself. She thinks about her next move more carefully this time as the wheel spins and stops. It takes her a moment to reveal the letter she chose. There aren't that many letters she figures can go in the last slot, and she's determined to get that out of the way.

"T, this time!"

[wizardseason]

Rory's bet on that last slot pays off, because Four claps excitedly as the very last letter fills in. Unfortunately, no other letter fills in.

"Another letter joins the phrase!" They exclaim, excited as they look Rory over.

"I wonder when you'll be confident to guess? Or is it just time for... another spin?" They ask, smirking as they lean close to Rory and try to see if they can get a read on her. They're hoping to see the anxiousness rise up when she realizes the next spin is going to be 'fight'.

"_ _ - _ _ _ _, _ I _! _ _ _ - _ A _ - _ _ - I T!"
Guessed Letters: A,E,I,S,T.

[roaryrory]

Her anxiety doesn't really get the chance to show through before she recognizes the feeling and knows what's in store. Seeing as how pathetic the last fight was, she feels secure in her choice.

"Spin it, I've got this!"

[wizardseason]

The wheel spins and, just like she figured, it lands on 'Fight'. There's an immediate rummaging in the darkness and Four gives a surprised gasp.

"Looks like it's time to fight!"

And from the darkness emerges another fake hero. This time, however, the fake hero looks a little more real. The body is still very much yellow, and the features are very much drawn on, but it looks like this figure is wearing a pretty much spot-on outfit that matches Olivia's. Slowly, she pulls out a knife. Does Olivia actually use a knife? Who knows.

"You'd better not get killed, dear contestant!" They exclaim as the fake-Olivia lunges forward with the knife to try to stab Rory, oh geez!

[roaryrory]

Unfortunately for fake-Olivia, Rory had a knife ready herself! Therefore, if she lunges too close, she might just run right into her knife. (She might run into her knife ten times.)

"Alright, that's an improvement! Good job!" Rory compliments the better likeness of the monster. Still, it makes her wonder if it's going to continue like this, with each one becoming more and more convincing. She's not looking forward to too many more fights.

[wizardseason]

She had it coming, she only had herself to blame!

The fake-Olivia only lasts a few run-ins with Rory's knife before crumbling apart into a pile of indistinguishable goo. There's a soft bubbling as the figure melts against the ground, leaving no trace of the attacker.

And then confetti cannons go off and the air fills with colorful paper confetti.

"Splendid job, contestant Rory!" Four announces, clapping their hands.

"How do you feel after dispatching such a powerful ally?"

[roaryrory]

"It was a decent costume, I'll give you that!" Rory says in encouragement, though with a hint of impatience in her voice as well.

"Can I have another letter now?"

[wizardseason]

"You can; in fact, dear contestant, why don't you guess three letters for your incredible act of knight-killing bravery?" They offer, clapping their hands excitedly as they motion their hand out towards the board to remind everyone of what has, and hasn't, been guessed:

"_ _ - _ _ _ _, _ I _! _ _ _ - _ A _ - _ _ - I T!"
Guessed Letters: A,E,I,S,T.

[roaryrory]

Three?! She... She doesn't know. She didn't think she'd get this far.

"Okay, wow, um. Let me think," she mumbles, then purses her lips in thought.

"O... H... and B, please."

She's very unsure about this.

[wizardseason]

"Splendid, contestant Rory, you've uncovered four more letters!" They clasp their hands together, a wide smile appearing from ear to ear on their face.

"And that means you have three choices this time... Guess the phrase, spin the wheel, or answer a challenge question to guess four letters!" They offer, clearly more excited than they should be about that prospect.

"_ O - _ O _ _, _ I _! _ O _ - _ A _ - _ O - I T!"
Guessed Letters: A,E,I,S,T,O,H,B.

[roaryrory]

Those O's really helped! Rory can now envision what the phrase might be, but... challenge question?

She doesn't know what the penalty will be if she guesses the phrase wrong. Better play it safe, and sate her curiosity.

"I'll take your challenge! Let's go!"

[wizardseason]

"Wonderful, dear contestant Rory!" They lean towards her, smiling wide.

"If you had to let one of your fellow heroes die, who would it be?" Their smile gets wider, practically ear to ear, making them look positively mad. What kind of awful question was this? Was there even a right answer? They look far, far too pleased to be asking it though.

[roaryrory]

Hey! Way to make her regret her decision! She's furious, the fur on her ears bristling when she hears the question.

"This doesn't have anything to do with the wheel of fortune!" she shouts. "Why would I let any of them die, anyway?"

[wizardseason]

There's no need to be furious, Rory! Four's just running a game show, after all, a monster game show about defeating knights!

"Oh, but dear contestant, you said you'd answer a challenge question! This is, after all, a challenging decision but you must choose!" They clasp their hands again, leaning forward insistently. Who will it be?

How terrible!

[roaryrory]

Well! This sucks! But Rory is not going to give Four the satisfaction of hearing her turn on anyone.

"I'd sacrifice myself to help them out alive." She's also a Knight, that counts, right?

[wizardseason]

"Oh, clever, dear contestant Rory!" Four answers, looking surprised as they take a step back and put a hand over their heart.

"But that is an acceptable answer, choose your three letters!"

[roaryrory]

There is no hesitation, but a fair amount of impatience in her voice when she calls out her chosen letters.

"R. C. N."

[wizardseason]

As Rory says the letters, the corresponding ones flip over rapidly afterward. That's quite a few!


"_O - ROR _, - _IN! - _O_ - CAN - _O - IT!"
Guessed Letters: A,E,I,S,T,O,H,B,R,C,N.

"Splendid, incredible, dear contestant Rory you've revealed five more letters! One higher than the best number to get!" Four exclaims, leaning closer with a wide smile.

"Are you ready to guess? Or will you spin again?"

[roaryrory]

This just confirms her guess. Let's end this.

"The phrase is 'Go, Rory, Win! You can do it!'."

[wizardseason]

The board containing the phrase suddenly lights up with bright sparkling colors and flashing lights as the letters all fill in. Four gives a surprised gasp at Rory's guess and then immediately follows it up with applause.

"Splendid, splendid dear contestant Rory!" They say, paying no mind to the four cannons that are rising up out of the ground and aiming directly at Rory.

"This is a cause for celebration! You've cleaved your way through your fellow heroes to grab victory! How wonderful! How incredible!" They lump on the praise, again and again, until they give this awful ear-to-ear grin at Rory.

"You've blown me away!" And as they deliver the pun, all four confetti cannons fire a literal wall of colorful paper directly at Rory. The force of it is enough to knock her back and obscure her vision entirely. Whether she stumbles backwards and falls, or catches her balance, the scenery has changed when the paper finally clears the air.

She's not on the game show anymore. She's back where she was abducted from before all this started. Gripped in her hand is an envelope with a letter from Four:

"Wonderful job dear contestant Rory, our ratings went through the roof thanks to you! I can't wait to see you again tomorrow. All the best! " And the letter is, of course, signed with a highly stylized cursive "4" as their signature.